Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that:

(a) early childhood education and care (ECEC) delivers benefits to children, families and the economy; and

(b) a universal ECEC system:

(i) means making quality services accessible to all children and families;

(ii) is an opportunity to unlock productivity and growth across the workforce and allow more women into the workforce if they want to work; and

(iii) would address cost of living pressures, productivity, gender equality and give all children the best start in life;

(2) notes that:

(a) ECEC sets children up for life;

(b) by the age of five, 90 per cent of a child's brain is fully developed;

(c) children who attend quality early childhood education are twice as likely to reach their developmental targets once at school;

(d) children experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability—who are likely to benefit most from ECEC services—are less likely to attend ECEC;

(e) the cost of ECEC in Australia is amongst the highest in OECD countries, representing a major cost of living pressure for many households; and

(f) ECEC enables mothers, in particular, to maintain a connection to the labour force when children are very young and allows for increasing hours of work as children grow; and

(3) calls on the Government to commit to, and provide, a pathway and timeline towards universal early education and care.

I brought this motion to the House because we have a real opportunity to transform early childhood education and care in this country. It seems incredible to me that a sector as important as this is out of reach for so many families, and that the cost of early childhood education is often the second highest expense in a household after the mortgage. Rising fees, staff shortages, a lack of funding and a lack of vision have plagued what should be an accessible and affordable place for children to learn.

I want to start with cost because the cost of living is the biggest issue facing Australians right now. The cost of early childhood education in Australia is among the highest in the OECD. For a lot of parents, the cost of care means they simply can't afford to work. It's often referred to as a cost-of-working crisis. The HILDA survey collects data on spending for more than 7,000 households every year. It's found that about 83 per cent of families spend more on child care than on utilities or clothing for all members of the household, 70 per cent spend more on child care than transport and 30 per cent spend more on child care than groceries.

Unaffordable child care often results in parents, usually women, deciding not to work, beginning lifelong gendered financial disadvantage. Yet again, women are bearing the brunt of decades of male centric priorities. But, at last, the conversation is changing. The Women's Economic Equality Taskforce put child care firmly on the political agenda when it stated that Australia should move towards adopting a universal childcare system.

The Productivity Commission's draft report has recommended that every child have access to three days of quality child care a week and, for families earning less than $80,000, it should be free. The Prime Minister has given his commitment to working towards a universal system. This is a commitment that I not only support. It's also one that I will fight to see delivered for women, for families, for children and for the economy.

Women in Australia are among the most highly educated in the world and have similar levels of labour force participation to men until they have children, when they begin to fall behind and never catch up. The differences are most pronounced in families with children under the age of five. The extent to which child care is available and affordable has consistently been found to lift rates of female participation. The Impact Economics and Policy 2023 report found that if labour force participation rates for females in families with children under five were to increase to match male participation rates, there would be an additional 301,000 women in families with children under five in the labour force. Our job as policymakers is to remove this barrier of returning to work for the sake of women, families and the economy. Yes, affordable and accessible child care is critical to growing the economy. More women working boosts economic growth and tax revenue.

Of course, early childhood education is crucial for children. By the age of five, 90 per cent of a child's brain is fully developed. Children who attend quality early childhood education are twice as likely to reach their development targets when they get to school. Early childhood education is the golden ticket. Children, families, women, the economy—it ticks all the boxes. This is why we must find a timely pathway to a universal system.

I support the Productivity Commission and the Centre for Policy Development recommendations that every child have access to three days of quality child care a week as a first step. That would give all children the start they need by increasing attendance, especially for those experiencing disadvantage. It would help alleviate cost-of-living stress for families and it would advance gender equality by getting women back into the workforce.

The government's decision to fund a 15 per cent pay increase for educators, which I strongly fought for, is also a win for gender equality in the female dominated early childhood sector. A valued and respected workforce underpins everything. Now is the time to start shaping the system we want for our children.

More than 25 years ago, Quebec introduced universal $5-a-day day care. Today, the workforce participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 is 89.4 per cent. Increased tax paid by those working women has entirely offset the cost, and Canada is now introducing $10-a-day child care to the rest of the country. Now is Australia's chance to move with certainty in the same direction.

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